Parents' charitable giving is affected by the sex of their first child, with parents whose first-born is a son more likely to donate to charity than those whose first child is a girl, a new study has claimed.
"The sex of the first-born child affects the likelihood that the parents will give to charity, the amount they give, and the types of causes and organisations they support," said Debra Mesch, director of Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).
"This is an important factor influencing charitable giving that was previously unknown," said Mesch.
The researchers found that the first-born's sex affects the parents' giving for those who are in two-parent families, but not in single-parent families.
Parents who have a first-born son and have two or more children are more likely to give to charity, and give 14.3 per cent larger amounts than people whose first-born child is a daughter, the researchers found.
They found that parents whose only child is a daughter are more likely to give to charity, and they give 20.3 per cent higher amounts than parents of a son who is an only child. They also give more to education and basic needs.
People whose first-born child is a son give more to education, youth and family services, researchers said.
"Research in several fields has examined how the sex of a child affects parents' behaviour, but this is the first study to ask this question about philanthropy," said Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm, the co-principal investigator and professor of economics and philanthropic studies (IUPUI).
"Finding that the sex of the child does have an impact on the parents' philanthropy is one of those special moments of discovery," said Ottoni-Wilhelm.
The researchers found that the children's effect was shaped by other family characteristics, including the number of children, the partnership status of the parents (partnered or not), the parents' partnership history and whether any children are still living at home.
